Vikings' Katheryn Winnick Talks Lagertha And Heahmund's Relationship In Season 5

Vikings Katheryn Winnick Lagertha History
(Image credit: Jonathan Hession/History)

The wait for Vikings to return for the second half of its fifth season is almost over. Helping stir the excitement is Vikings' Katheryn Winnick, who teased her character's journey in Season 5B. She also made an intriguing comparison between Lagertha's attraction to Heahmund and Ragnar. Winnick offered insight into Lagertha and Heahmund's relationship and her options, saying:

The only option they have is to trust Heahmund and go to Wessex. I think probably, since Ragnar, she's never been attracted to anybody like she has with Heahmund.

Yes, you read that correctly. Katheryn Winnick said that Lagertha has not felt as attracted to anyone this much, since Ragnar. That is quite an insight, which indicates her attraction to Heahmund must run pretty deep. Her relationship with her ex-husband and the father of her children was a complicated yet love-filled one.

After a pretty happy first season, the couple went through an unexpected and abrupt break-up in Season 2, all thanks to Ragnar's philandering and the betrayal that led to his marrying his second wife, Aslaug. Upon Aslaug's initial arrival in Kattegat, Lagertha forced her husband to choose between them. His solution? Ragnar suggested she accept his taking another wife. She subsequently left him and took a young Bjorn with her.

Due to that and other painful pieces from her past, it is easy to understand why Lagertha has her share of trust issues. Katheryn Winnick opened up about Lagertha's ability to trust Heahmund, saying:

She has a really hard time trusting anybody else, and I'm not sure she ever really even trusts Heahmund. The only person she can ever really trust is herself.

Hopefully, Lagertha's attraction to Heahmund finds her better off than her relationship with Ragnar did. At this point, she has nothing to lose. Regardless, there is always a reason to give pause. While Ragnar ended up marrying Aslaug, his heart only ever seemed to belong to one person -- Lagertha. Some could say that his cheating on Lagertha was the misstep that led to everything that happened to him afterward. His Vikings journey post-Lagertha was riddled with bad choices.

Had he stayed true to his first wife, their partnership could have seen him incur a different ending. In other words, he may have been less self-destructive and more productive. A what-if episode of Vikings would need to happen to test this theory for sure. Whether Heahmund will make better Lagertha-related choices than Ragnar remains to be seen.

As for what you can expect from Lagertha when the second half of Vikings' second season kicks off, Katheryn Winnick teased quite a journey for the storied character. Discussing what state we will discover Lagertha in when the series returns, Winnick shared that Season 5B will find Lagertha having lost everything, including her kingdom.

The actress added that Vikings viewers should not expect Lagertha to stay down for long. After losing control of Kattegat to Ragnar's son Ivar, Lagertha is battling back. Katheryn Winnick shared that Season 5B will find Lagertha working to find her way, while teasing that Kattegat has not seen the last of its one-time queen.

You can watch the entire promotional clip featuring Katheryn Winnick talking Lagertha below:

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The second half of Vikings' fifth season, also known as Season 5B, will premiere Wednesday, November 28 on History. The History series is among many returning with new seasons this fall.

Britt Lawrence

Like a contented Hallmark movie character, Britt happily lives in the same city she grew up in. Along with movies and television, she is passionate about competitive figure skating. She has been writing about entertainment for 5 years, and as you may suspect, still finds it as entertaining to do as when she began.